Blues 7, Kraken 2
Old habits die hard; as in falling behind early and trying to win while playing come-from-behind hockey on a regular basis.
On Tuesday night in St. Louis, that bad habit quickly turned into something insurmountable. By the midway point of the 2nd period, the Blues were ahead 5-0 and Seattle starting goalie Joey Daccord got yanked.
In relief came 2022 2nd-round NHL Draft pick Niklas Kokko, who’s put up sterling numbers this season with Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League.
It was an ugly welcome. After making one stop, he had absolutely no chance on the second shot-on-goal he faced. A cross-slot pass led to an easy goal for Jake Neighbours, one of six different Blues to score one in the first 31:55 of the game. Neighbours snapped a ten-game goalless streak.
Thirteen different St. Louis skaters finished the game with at least one point. Oskar Sundqvist led the way with three.
Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz scored late goals for the Kraken.
Seattle is off until the club hosts the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
